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Kerbfleet: A Jool Odyssey-CHAPTER 21 pg 18--He's a docking wizard! (there had to be a twist?)


Mister Dilsby

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Engines have exhaust, and rocket engine exhaust is pretty hot. Even more if it's nuclear engine. But when a burn ends, hot gasses dissipate and cool down fast. Kenlistar Redacted Intrepid sensors are real-time-only, not too good to spot something ztealthy.

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1 hour ago, GregroxMun said:

I've been waiting for a chance to release Kerbulus! If it's alright with you, I can go ahead and get a release thread asap.

Yes, please go ahead and thank you for waiting--it was really an honor for you to do that for me and wait patiently until I could do the reveal in the comic :) 

1 hour ago, GregroxMun said:

But that does seem like a pretty cool idea, now that you mention it. @Kuzzter, you don't plan on showing Num up close any time soon, do you? I might be able to fashion a much more interesting Num.

Well, seeing as I just got the V2 in the mail from you and I haven't shown Num yet I suppose the point is moot :) But in any case, don't worry about that sort of thing, I can handwave and retcon with the best of them!

1 hour ago, waterlubber said:

Well, assuming we're following normal physics here*, the bloaking device would probably work similar to Silent Running in Elite: Dangerous. Running the reactors or engines requires an un-bloak or else the craft will overheat

8 minutes ago, John JACK said:

Engines have exhaust, and rocket engine exhaust is pretty hot. Even more if it's nuclear engine. But when a burn ends, hot gasses dissipate and cool down fast. Kenlistar Redacted Intrepid sensors are real-time-only, not too good to spot something ztealthy.

I think @John JACK has it right. The bloaking device as I imagine it hides an object from sensors that use reflected electromagnetic radiation--whether we're talking about visible light from a source such as the sun, or radio waves coming from another ship's radar dish. But if the ship being bloaked starts to emit significant quantities of its own radiation--in this example, infrared from the hot exhaust--that's going to get picked up. 

And now, in other news, all future editions of this comic will be done with live action models! OK no not really. But THIS just came in the mail today:

zfelXNk.jpg

Yep, that a Gliido 7P approaching Minmus! (Ok actually I think that's supposed to be Uranus hanging from my daughter's ceiling but anyway...)  It's VERY cool. I'm running around the kitchen with a glass of wine in one hand and the Gliido in the other making 'whoooooosh' noises. Might get a Kerbulan ship next. :D 

 

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I'm going to release the Kerbfleet Planet Pack officially on the forums as soon as you see Num in a page of the Kerbfleet Comics. It's Kuzzter's job to show the things off, not mine. :P

 

that said, if you want a spoiler, you can find it on SpaceDock yourself.

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6 hours ago, Kuzzter said:

So it occurs to me that at some point we'll have enough pieces to release a near-complete Kerbulan 'skin' for the game. It would include Gregrox's Kerbulus system, the flag, the uniforms and beards of course. Then perhaps a skilled 'contract configurator' like @nightingale could create a system where shooting down/murdering people from rival factions (Rockomaximus, Kerlingtus, etc.) would give reputation, funds and science. Research? Pah! That's for nerds! We gain technology through tribute! For the glory of the Empire! And of course every time a crew member gets promoted, one of higher rank has a random chance to get assassinated. Hm...

Yeah, I'd venture to say that would get some downloads. :) 

And don 't forget the shock collars and cattleprods to herd returning crew to their debriefing-dissections.  Really, that last frame brought back such memories of the Bad Old Days of the Circus :)

 

1 hour ago, Kuzzter said:

Yep, that a Gliido 7P approaching Minmus! (Ok actually I think that's supposed to be Uranus hanging from my daughter's ceiling but anyway...)  It's VERY cool. I'm running around the kitchen with a glass of wine in one hand and the Gliido in the other making 'whoooooosh' noises. Might get a Kerbulan ship next. :D 

OK, that's the sort of feedback I was looking for.  The key point is that the thing is so cool that it only required a glass of wine to evoke this reaction, instead of whiskey :)  So I'm going to do this.  Just need to pick something....

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2 hours ago, Kuzzter said:

I'm running around the kitchen with a glass of wine in one hand and the Gliido in the other making 'whoooooosh' noises. Might get a Kerbulan ship next

It's kind of funny, because that's the kind of thing KSP can sometimes bring you back to.  Now I just need to actually get one.  I, too, am one of those who just can't choose a design...

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1 minute ago, RocketSquid said:

That's actually a mod, from what I understand. I was unable to get it to work in stock.

Yes, it's a mod.

It was an April Fools joke to suggest that it was in the stock game.

Happy Concerned landings!

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Laythe is, according to NovaSilisko, meant to be a hazardous environment. To paraphrase him, it's supposed to be heavily volcanic due to its proximity to Jool, have an atmosphere that has lots of oxygen but still toxic to Kerbals, and be deep within the most powerful of the radiation belts of Jool. All of this with a heavily salty ocean.

Yet despite all these problems with the habitability of Laythe to Kerbals, it clearly has a lot of oxygen in the atmosphere. Therefore, there must be life separating oxygen from other compounds and pouring it into the air. A sort of primordial Kerbin. There may be primitive fish in Laythe's oceans, of a shape totally alien compared to Kerbin's normal fish. Discovery of life on Laythe would probably still be very surprising to scientists back on Kerbin. I imagine Kerbfleet has some ways of protecting astronauts from the hazardous radiation of Jool while inside a spacecraft, but on the surface in nothing but an EVA suit? Pack your Geiger Counter, Jeb.

Despite all of these hazards, Laythe is still probably the best spot off of Kerbin to hold a colony. Unlike anywhere else in space, Laythe has huge supplies of liquid water (although it may be toxic and salty) and huge supplies of gaseous molecular oxygen in the air (which would still need to be purified in order to breathe). Duna, the next best candidate, has only frozen water at the poles, and oxygen atoms bonded to the rocks and non-pure molecules in the air. Much more refinery needed there than Laythe.

Still, only the bravest men and women would dare colonize a world as toxic as Laythe.

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1 hour ago, GregroxMun said:

Still, only the bravest men and women would dare colonize a world as toxic as Laythe.

So you have three headed fish in the ocean. What's the big deal?? ;)

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21 hours ago, Kuzzter said:

Yep, that a Gliido 7P approaching Minmus! (Ok actually I think that's supposed to be Uranus hanging from my daughter's ceiling but anyway...)  It's VERY cool. I'm running around the kitchen with a glass of wine in one hand and the Gliido in the other making 'whoooooosh' noises. Might get a Kerbulan ship next. :D 

 

Aw, man... Now I'm green with envy here! I wish I could get one of these, but a) it's very expensive at the current dollar/BRL exchange rate; b) I'd have to pay even more money to get it through customs; and c) it would probably arrive here in Belo Horizonte in pieces.

It's Spore all over again... But at least I got a 3D print of my favorite creature when I visited Maxis Studios...

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2 hours ago, Parkaboy said:

It's Spore all over again... But at least I got a 3D print of my favorite creature when I visited Maxis Studios...

Hehe, I remember they send a set to this guy from VGCats when he did a cartoon on it. Did you go there for Spore specifically or on other business? 

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3 hours ago, Parkaboy said:

Aw, man... Now I'm green with envy here! I wish I could get one of these, but a) it's very expensive at the current dollar/BRL exchange rate; b) I'd have to pay even more money to get it through customs; and c) it would probably arrive here in Belo Horizonte in pieces.

Oh, that's too bad. FWIW it was packed very well, so I think (c) wouldn't be a problem unless Customs opened it... which yeah, Customs. :( 

And, teasing...

zyzurss.png

Left this running in the background for much of the day to get to this point; lab science is offloaded, an we're ready for outward burn. Sharp-eyed readers who can math will note that at 0.06 TWR on main engines, that burn is going to take about 45 minutes... or in real time, until about next Thursday. I'll start firing at the T-2 hour mark and see how it goes--I can always turn on the Kerbodynes if I have to. 

Questions you'll no doubt have, and their answers:

  • Yes the blue one above Moho is Kerblulus
  • Yes the ship on the inside track is Lisa Kermulan's scout craft
  • "Secret Burn Shhh" is EvilLisa's intercept burn to get home
  • Yes, there is a transfer window for Dres coming up
  • No, I'm not going there yet. Too much time and trouble maneuvering Intrepid to bring you the next pages of the present comic.

Man, I can't wait for a stable 1.1 general release, avec mods!

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1 hour ago, FyunchClick said:

Hehe, I remember they send a set to this guy from VGCats when he did a cartoon on it. Did you go there for Spore specifically or on other business? 

I went there for the Spore Galactic Adventures adventure camp. It was awesome. I still have the figurine and poster they gave me.

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